After driving through a dense forest, Song Qing saw several scattered red-brick houses along the roadside. The walls were mottled with green moss, making them look as though they had been abandoned for a long time.
Song Qing parked the car in front of one of the houses. She told Jiang Chenyu, whose injuries had not fully healed yet, to stay in the car while she got out and went inside to see if she could find some food.
When she entered the kitchen, she suddenly felt uneasy, as if something terrifying were watching her. She quickly turned around and swept her eyes across the surroundings. Apart from an old rag hanging on the wall, swaying slightly in the breeze coming through the window, she saw nothing.
But the cool breeze blowing in from outside made her heart tighten even more.
Suddenly, a drop of unknown liquid fell onto the ground beside her.
Song Qing abruptly raised her head.
A small zombie lying on top of the cabinet suddenly pounced at her.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Song Qing was so frightened that she screamed loudly and instinctively ran out of the kitchen. The small zombie quickly chased after her. The moment she sensed something was wrong, all thoughts of stopping to fight the zombie disappeared completely.
As she ran, she threw clumps of dirt behind her, using her ability to bind the small zombie’s feet with the soil on the ground. However, it could only restrain it for a moment before the zombie broke free.
“Why do I feel like this zombie is different?” Song Qing asked the System while panting heavily.
The System nervously replied, “It’s a second-order zombie.”
After hearing that, Song Qing ran even faster, shouting in fear as she fled.
“Ahhhhh! What do I do? I’m only first order! Is it going to eat me?”
The System immediately comforted her. “It won’t, Host. You’re almost second order too, and you also have increased physical strength. Try to see if you can kill the zombie.”
The familiar screams made Jiang Chenyu, who had been resting with his eyes closed inside the car, frown in annoyance.
He released his mental power and immediately saw Song Qing being chased by the second-order zombie toward a deserted field.
Clearly, he could kill the zombie with a single thought, but Jiang Chenyu merely watched indifferently.
Following the System’s advice, and knowing that she would eventually be caught if she kept running, Song Qing finally stopped and turned around.
She took a steel rebar from her space and swung it at the small zombie that was pouncing toward her.
The small zombie was extremely agile. She could not hit it at all, while it constantly looked for an opening to grab her.
Song Qing could only swing the two-meter-long steel rebar wildly to keep the small zombie from getting close, while desperately activating her ability and condensing clumps of earth to throw at it.
The small zombie was far too nimble. It was only about a meter tall and thin and small, making it easy for it to dodge her attacks.
Several minutes passed, yet the two remained locked in a stalemate.
Song Qing’s arms were exhausted, her legs had gone weak, and her breathing was rapid. Sweat gathered drop by drop on her fair forehead before running down to her chin and falling to the ground.
Her ability was also close to being completely depleted, and her head was beginning to ache.
The small zombie, however, had only been hit once by her and was still full of energy.
She clearly realized the difference between a first-order and a second-order zombie.
At a critical moment, Song Qing suddenly stepped into the soft mud of the field. Her foot sank down without warning, causing her to stumble. At the same time, the hand holding the steel rebar stopped moving.
The small zombie’s bloodshot eyes widened excitedly. Its twisted claws lunged toward her, carrying a sharp gust of wind.
Song Qing’s pupils shrank. The zombie’s terrifying face was reflected in her eyes, and she thought she was finished.
Yet the small zombie strangely stopped for a moment.
Song Qing seized the opportunity and frantically smashed its head. After more than a dozen blows, the zombie finally collapsed to the ground.
Song Qing also collapsed weakly onto the field. She stared at the clear blue sky, her chest rising and falling violently as hot, damp breaths escaped through her nose.
She was exhausted!
Second-order zombies were far too difficult to fight!
Remembering the System’s endless praise, Song Qing grinned happily after surviving the ordeal.
Thinking about the moment when the zombie had suddenly stopped, she asked, “System, was that you helping me just now?”
The System was confused. “No? I can’t interfere with the Host’s affairs. If the world consciousness discovers that the two of us are outsiders, we’ll be destroyed.”
“The only benefits the System gives the Host are physical strength that increases along with your ability level and a space. Everything else has to be achieved by the Host herself.”
The person who had truly helped Song Qing used his mental power to lightly touch her flushed face after the battle before withdrawing it back into his body.
There were countless mysteries surrounding her. Jiang Chenyu himself had not been willing to kill her, so how could he allow a mere zombie to kill her?
Song Qing felt a strange itch on her face and wiped it with her hand, assuming that some grass had brushed against her. She paid it no further attention.
Her attention was completely captured by what the System had said.
She asked excitedly, “You mean my physical strength can still increase?”
The System replied, “Mm-hmm. As long as your earth ability increases, your physical strength will increase along with it.”
Wouldn’t that mean she essentially had two abilities?
And she did not even need to deliberately improve her strength ability. It would naturally increase together with her earth ability.
She had absorbed more than a dozen first-order crystals along the way and had felt that her physical strength was increasing. She had thought it was just her imagination, but it turned out to be real!
Song Qing immediately sprang back to life and stood up. She ran toward where she had parked the car.
She opened the passenger-side door, grabbed Jiang Chenyu’s arm, and pulled him outside while excitedly saying, “Brother Yu, I just killed a second-order zombie! Help me get the crystal out.”
Her voice rose excitedly, unconsciously carrying a hint of showing off, as though she were waiting for the person she was talking to to praise her.
Jiang Chenyu followed her lead. Looking down at the girl covered in dirt, with several blades of grass still caught in her dark hair, he reluctantly praised her.
“Qingqing is really impressive. You managed to kill a zombie of a higher level. Once you have the second-order crystal, you’ll be able to level up soon, and our journey will be much safer.”
The moment he finished speaking, the delicate expression on her fair face relaxed, overflowing with satisfaction.
The corners of Jiang Chenyu’s lips unconsciously curved upward.
Having obtained the second-order crystal, Song Qing did not dare absorb it recklessly. She planned to wait until they had settled down for the night.
She brought out a small stool and let Jiang Chenyu sit by the field to rest and enjoy the sunlight.
“Brother Yu, rest here for a while. I’m going to dig for sweet potatoes.”
After settling him down, Song Qing energetically ran toward the sweet potato field she had discovered earlier.
With no one fertilizing or tending to them, all the sweet potatoes she dug up were very small. Most were only about two fingers wide, while the largest was only the size of her palm.
But Song Qing, who was so hungry that she felt dizzy, was already very satisfied.
She first built a fire beside the field, tossed the dozen or so sweet potatoes she had dug up into it to roast, then continued digging.
She dug up a large pile and put all of them into her System space.
The two of them sat by the field, enjoying the cool breeze while happily eating a meal of sweet, roasted sweet potatoes.
After finishing their food, they continued on their journey.
Whenever there were zombies, Song Qing would kill them. Whenever they came across a house, they would go inside and collect supplies.
After driving for several hours, Song Qing’s harvest consisted of dozens of first-order crystals, one second-order crystal, and a pile of miscellaneous items.
Blankets, candles, clothes, knives, sticks, and all sorts of other things were available.
The only thing missing was food.
As the sky gradually darkened, Song Qing was exhausted after driving all day and began looking for somewhere to spend the night.
She had originally planned to find any house, but then she noticed a small village in the distance with a checkpoint at its entrance.
Song Qing immediately perked up.
If there were people guarding the village, that meant they had food. She had some crystals and could exchange them for something to eat.
She drove the car off the main road and onto the smaller road leading toward the village.
Just as she was about to drive in, Jiang Chenyu’s cool hand pressed down on hers.
She turned her head and looked at him in confusion.
Jiang Chenyu raised an eyebrow.
“Are you sure you want to go in?”
“Yes.” Song Qing nodded. “We can exchange some crystals for food and stay for one night. There are more people here, so it should be safer. Is there something wrong with the village?”
Safer because there were more people?
Jiang Chenyu sneered inwardly.
He shook his head and replied, “Nothing. If you want to go in, then go.”
After all, whoever got into trouble would not be him.
At the village checkpoint, Xiao Liu saw a black car approaching. He picked up a pair of binoculars and observed for a while before excitedly running into the village.
He arrived outside the most luxurious three-story house in the village, its exterior covered in white and red tiles, and excitedly shouted, “Brother Hao! Brother Hao! A car just drove in from outside. There’s a pretty girl and a sickly-looking man inside. Should we let them in?”
The moment he finished speaking, the iron gate opened.
A tall, muscular man walked out. His skin was dark, and his face looked somewhat honest and simple.
He slapped Xiao Liu on the shoulder and raised an eyebrow.
“Really pretty?”
As he spoke, his expression was full of lust and greed, completely erasing the trace of honesty on his face.
Inside the open gate stood a gentle and beautiful young woman. She had an expressionless face and a vacant gaze as she stared at them.
Xiao Liu nodded repeatedly.
“Really pretty. Her skin is fair with a rosy glow, as tender as tofu. She looks just like a girl from a big city.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and let them in.”
Ji Guohao slapped Xiao Liu hard on the shoulder again and said excitedly, “Bring them to my room. I’ll personally entertain them.”
Xiao Liu clutched his aching shoulder and hurriedly agreed. He turned around and rushed toward the village entrance, moving so quickly that he kicked up a gust of wind.
Clearly, he was a second-order speed-type ability user.
The elderly people and children in the village looked uncomfortable whenever they saw him passing by. However, they did not dare show it.
Song Qing drove the car to the village entrance, only to discover that the person who had been guarding the small wooden hut had left.
A large wooden beam lay across the road leading into the village.
She turned her head in confusion and looked at Jiang Chenyu, who was lazily lying in the passenger seat with his eyes closed.
“Brother Yu, if I’m not mistaken, there was someone guarding this place just now, right? Could it be that they don’t welcome us?”
Jiang Chenyu had heard the conversation between the two men inside clearly.
He opened his eyes and answered with a faint smile, “Someone will come to let us in soon.”
“Oh.”
After hearing his words, Song Qing pulled up the handbrake and obediently waited.
Jiang Chenyu glanced at her before turning his gaze toward the village entrance.
His deep eyes contained a dark, blood-colored chill.
The conversation between those two men had made him very uncomfortable. He did not intend to investigate the source of that discomfort.
He only wanted to kill the people who made him uncomfortable.
Before they had even entered the village, those two men were already dead in his eyes.
Less than two minutes later, a somewhat thin man arrived at the village entrance and asked about their purpose.
Song Qing stuck her head out of the car window.
“Hello, I’d like to stay in the village for one night. Can I exchange something for food?”
“Of course.”
Xiao Liu opened the wooden beam blocking the road. His thin face was covered in a smile.
“You can drive the car inside and park it.”
His excessive enthusiasm made Song Qing feel a little strange, but she did not think much of it. She assumed that it was simply because their village rarely had outsiders during the apocalypse.
She parked the car in an open area inside the village.
Song Qing and Jiang Chenyu got out of the car, and Xiao Liu led them deeper into the village.
The village was not very large and could be seen almost at a glance. There were only a dozen or so houses, most of them red-brick houses without tiled walls.
Only one house in the middle was covered in red and white tiles, making it particularly eye-catching.
Along the way, they passed several elderly people and children. They did not look particularly energetic, but compared with the people in the slums of Huaxin Base, who were so hungry that they were nothing but skin and bones and did not dare leave the base to search for food, they were still doing much better.
To Song Qing’s surprise, she even saw dozens of chickens being kept in a fenced area.
Her eyes immediately lit up.
She was almost tempted to grab one and eat it raw.
After Xiao Liu brought her into the best-decorated house in the village, her body was inside the house, but her heart was still with the chickens.
Fried chicken, braised chicken, roast chicken, big-plate chicken…
Dish after dish of delicious chicken flashed through her mind, and saliva rapidly filled her mouth.